


Radio Days

by belivaird_st



Category: Carol (2015), The Price of Salt - Patricia Highsmith
Genre: F/F, Gen, Multi
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-05
Updated: 2018-04-05
Packaged: 2019-04-18 21:01:37
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 364
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14221728
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/belivaird_st/pseuds/belivaird_st
Summary: Abby has bought a TV from Carol’s furniture shop and doesn’t know how to bond with it.





	Radio Days

**Author's Note:**

> I only did a little research of the history of TVs for this one-shot and hopefully it was convincing enough. The title was tricky, but I thought it fell appropriate since the characters from the movie and book lived in a world where there were more radios than television sets. Back then, having an actual TV was a luxury...

Abby’s Home, New Jersey 1954

The three women smoke and peer down at the 12” mahogany wood television set that has been properly installed inside the left corner of Abby’s living room. Therese holds up the crumpled, newspaper ad and begins to read out loud:

“You can never go wrong, when you buy a _Raytheon_. This deluxe television includes 1 through 13 channels, a built-in antenna, and a one-knob tuner. Comes with the clearest, sharpest images your eyes will forever indulge on...”

“I don’t like it.” Abby flicks cigarette ash with her acrylic thumbnail.

“Just give it some time,” Carol smirks, cradling her cigarette between two of her fingers. “I sold a similar one to a family of four not too long ago...” she admiringly watches Therese bend down to her stockinged knees on the mohair rug and starts opening the two small, built-in cabinets with genuine curiosity.

“It’s fancy enough,” Therese comments, rubbing the smooth, polished wood with her hand.

“It’s clunky. I hate it. It’s going back to the shop, Carol,” Abby concludes. 

Carol grins. Therese twists the one-knob tuner and then the screen pops instantly with a moving black & white picture of Fran Allison singing a campy tune in a white lacy gingham dress with swaying puppets alongside her.

“What program is this?” Abby asks. Her eyes squint at the glass bubble screen with slight interest.

“ _Kukla, Fran and Ollie_ ,” Carol replies. “Rindy watches it every Thursday at her aunt and uncle’s house in Richmond...”

“It’s already starting to annoy me. Turn it off, Therese,” Abby orders. Therese shuts off all the singing and music coming from the wooden box and picks herself up from the floor.

“I think it’s pretty neat,” Carol says. “One of my customers had a prediction that there’ll be TVs in every family living room by 1960. And with color.”

“That sounds wonderful,” Therese beams.

“Sounds more like a fantasy. Are we going out for brunch or not?” Abby demands. Carol laughs at her. Therese puts away the newspaper clipping back on the coffee table and follows the other two women outside to the sunny, yet chilly early-Spring weather towards Abby’s parked, forest green convertible.

-End


End file.
